Public defenders pushback on bill that would increase time to charge detainee

How many hours is it appropriate to keep somebody in jail before they see a judge after they've been arrested, usually without a warrant? That's what lawmakers have to decide after Senator Wil Parkinson on behalf of the Attorney General's Office introduced a bill to increase the benchmark from 48 hours to 72.

But the measure met with pushback from public defenders.

As the prison population continues to inch it’s way towards a thousand, government leaders are seeking to change a long held statute with the intent to protect the community. Currently those arrested without a warrant have a right to a magistrate hearing within 48 hours. 

Bill 235 would increase that to 72 hours. Senator Parkinson sponsoring the bill on behalf of Attorney General Doug Moylan. 

"You got four hours to process up to 17 defendants. That requires looking over police reports, checking the charges that would be charged by creating the affidavit of probable cause, and if you miss one or two of them, it could mean the life or death of somebody," said the AG.

The measure’s intent is to afford the Superior Court of Guam sufficient time to review and charge a detainee with a crime to adequately protect the community.  But Public Defender Service Corporation executive director Stephen Hattori calling it a pro-crime bill, "because it encourages more litigation on timeliness and victims should be allowed to see crimes charged faster, as opposed to slower."

His deputy director, Attorney John Morrison, adding it would violate a constitutional right, saying, “I do not think it would be constitutionally advisable to pass a bill that says 72 hours is the standard that we’re going to use now after the [Riverside vs.] McLaughlin decision that said 48 hours is the maximum that needs to be adhered to."

Attorney Peter Santos with the Alternate Public Defender’s Office also against the bill. "Imagine if it's you or one of your loved ones or your constituents that have to sit there for 72 hours in this location by default without even having to show that there’s a need to hold you for 72 hours just because people can’t get their act together. The AG must believe that we’re in North Korea or Cuba or something," he said.

In the meantime, the Judiciary says they have no issue with the current deadline as the courts have consistently met it the past 16 years.